The Year of the National Park

Posted on April 2, 2012 by Dave

Mammoth Cave National Park - Kentucky

It seems this will be the year that I will stay within US borders and visit some of our National Parks.  This weekend I began by visiting Mammoth Cave National Park just a couple of hours down the road.  Two things I learned after scouring through the photos this evening: it is impossible to take a good photograph inside a cave; second thing–who the hell wants to look at photos taken inside a cave (at least the awful ones I took).  Still, I will post one and hope that my future trips–all outside, thankfully–will produce much better results.  Up next is a short weekend trip to Yosemite Valley at the end of this month and then up to the Badlands in South Dakota in late May.  I will finish up in late July/early August with a two day trip through Death Valley National Park then on an 8 day hike along the John Muir trail.  If time permits and lottery luck is on our side, we may head back to Yosemite Valley for the Half Dome hike….where my fear of heights will be tested.

That leaves me with September through December without any plans…..maybe there will be some international adventure after all.

Posted in Kentucky, Mammoth Cave NP, South, US | Leave a comment

Next up in July…Sierra-Nevada and the John Muir Trail

Posted on February 15, 2012 by Dave

Just booked my flight for a July trip to the Sierra-Nevada Mountains.  We will be doing one of the classic mountain hikes–the North Lake to South Lake loop which includes one of the best sections of the John Muir trail.   Looks like we will be spending 7 to 9 days in the wilderness with a possible overnight stopover in Death Valley National Park.

My preparation has started as I try to get back into reasonable shape….which hopefully means dropping about 20 lbs by early July.

I am quite certain that the Quest Outdoors store is very appreciative of my month-long spending spree in all three of their Louisville stores.  I thought this was going to be a reasonably inexpensive trip until I started reading outdoor gear magazines and online equipment reviews.  Of course I needed the latest and greatest gear and now the expense for the trip rivals some European luxury vacations.

I will try not to think about it too much…just glad that the planning and spending are (mostly) behind me.

Posted in US | Leave a comment

Gunfire Incident at Topkapi Palace

Posted on November 30, 2011 by Dave

Police stationed on the walls of Topkapi Palace

Because I missed an opportunity to visit the Archaeological Museum yesterday, I decided to visit this morning before I went to the airport.  My alarm did not go off and I woke up 40 minutes late.  I also had little Turkish Lira left so I had to visit a money exchange before heading over to the museum.  As I was walking towards the museum, a fleet of police and ambulance went streaming by.  As I walked past the Hagia Sophia to turn up Bab-I Hamayun street towards the Topkapi Palace (the Archaeological Museum is next to the Palace), I saw a medium sized crowd gathered and no one was proceeding up the street.  The large gate to the Topkapi grounds was closed.  Police cars and ambulances lined the street.  After a few minutes, I heard rifle fire followed by a brief machine gun round.

Initially the police seemed a bit disorganized and allowed me and others to proceed up the street towards Topkapi and I got as close as 200 yards away.  Don’t ask me why I wanted to get closer but I think I was just dumbfounded that something like this was happening.  I shot some photos and videos as I walked toward Topkapi.  Soon the police were pushing everyone back toward the corner of Ayasofya and Bab-I Hamayun streets.

I stationed myself on the corner as I watched waves of police, ambulances and armored cars go by.  Gunfire continued the entire hour I stood on the corner.

About 40 minutes into the incident, the media started arriving with local media on the scene first followed by CNN Turkey and CNBC.

I finally decided to head back to the hotel after an hour or so as gunfire still rang out.  The walk back to the hotel took about 20 minutes and when I arrived, the receptionist told me that they had apprehended the gunman and that he had wounded two people.  I later learned on an Internet news story that the gunmen was shot dead.

I guess I have my alarm issues and lack of money to thank otherwise I could have been right in the middle of the mess.

And I though my last day would be uneventful.  More photos from the scene:

Posted in Europe, Istanbul, Turkey | 2 Comments

Istanbul – Day 3 – Ayasofya and the Islamic Art Museum

Posted on November 29, 2011 by Dave

Dome of Ayasofya

At this point in the trip, I am suffering from a serious case of Stendahl’s syndrome and my senses are overloaded.   I visited the Hagia Sophia today and the Islamic Art Museum.  The Hagia Sophia is a place I have been wanting to see for over 20 years; even since taking an Intro to Art class at the University of Pittsburgh.  I guess I have prof. David Wilkins to thank for all of this traveling–he let me into his over-booked intro class (even though I was an Econ major) and I was hooked.  The next semester I took his Italian Renaissance class and I have since traveled to see most of the things he taught me about in both of those classes.

I followed that up with some serious shopping; so much that I am not sure they are going to let me on the plane tomorrow.  I have seen some amazing carpets and iznik pottery–I would be dangerous if I actually had money to burn.

Now that I have bored you to tears, I will share what might be my last set of photos.  Not my best, for sure, but my concentration and what little creativity I have are beginning to wan.

Posted in Europe, Istanbul, Turkey | 1 Comment

Istanbul – 2nd Day

Posted on November 28, 2011 by Dave

Blue Mosque

Well, I have recovered a bit from my travel-related malaise and Italy seems like a distant memory.  I received an Istanbul 101 course today courtesy of my tour guide, Serhat.  We had a small tour group consisting of me, a couple from Scotland–Dundee, I believe and a gentleman from San Francisco.  We started off at 9am and visited the Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace, the underground Basilica Cistern and the Grand Bazaar (the classic Istanbul tour).   We also visited a carpet shop and had a very good lunch on a terrace overlooking the Hagia Sophia.  The Islamic museum and the Hagia Sophia are on the agenda for tomorrow morning and then I will improvise the remainder of the day.

Visited a very nice ceramic shop tonight and bought one tiny bowl–so the Istanbul shops only have $25 from me so far….but there is certainly a lot of nice things temping me.

I was relieved to learn that my nephew and my friends made it safely home without experiencing any major delays; I am hoping for the same in a few days.

Before I head to the restaurant across the street, I’ll share some more photos from today:

Posted in Europe, Istanbul, Turkey | 1 Comment